Port of Duisburg starts enerPort II project
duisport CEO Markus Bangen gave the official starting signal for Europe’s first climate-neutral hinterland terminal, according to the Port of Duisbur's release. The symbolic groundbreaking ceremony marks not only the forthcoming start of construction of the Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT) but also the implementation of the joint project “enerPort II”.
Together with international partners Cosco Shipping Logistics, Hupac SA, and the HTS Group, duisport is building the trimodal DGT on the site of the former coal island in Duisburg, scheduled to be completed by mid-2023. It is considered a model project for the future of logistics and, with an area of 235,000 square meters, it will be the largest container terminal in the European hinterland upon completion.
Westenergie Netzservice is installing an intelligent and sustainable energy system to link the various energy sectors. The focus is on the microgrid, electrical energy storage, PV systems, plant operation and intelligent control.
Stadtwerke Duisburg is developing a concept for the construction of a hydrogen filling station and an electrolyzer for the production of hydrogen from renewable energies. Netze Duisburg is investigating which network infrastructures can be used to distribute the hydrogen. To ensure the economically optimal operation of a cross-sector energy system, Stadtwerke Duisburg Energiehandel will act as the interface to the conventional energy markets and stock exchanges.
Rolls-Royce will demonstrate in practical operation at the future container terminal what the climate-neutral, decentralized energy supply of the future could look like. This will be achieved with an intelligent combination of renewable energies such as photovoltaics in conjunction with batteries and green hydrogen. To this end, the company will install three hydrogen-powered mtu fuel cell units with a total output of 1.5 megawatts to cover peak electrical loads in addition to two mtu hydrogen cogeneration units with 2 megawatts of output for the electrical base load and heat supply.
The duisport Group and the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT have long been working together to achieve a complete energy transformation of the Port of Duisburg. Future-oriented technologies have already been analyzed and customized models developed as part of the “enerPort” project. These are now being applied in the DGT as part of the follow-up project “enerPort II”. The world’s largest inland port thus not only operates Europe’s largest climate-neutral hinterland hub, but can at the same time supply neighboring districts with additional energy through intelligent networking. The entire project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection for a period of four years as part of the “Hydrogen Technology Offensive”.
The entire DGT work processes will be highly efficient and 100% climate-neutral. All movements of goods are digitally coordinated down to the last detail and controlled automatically. The DGT is considered a guiding model for the energy transition of inland ports throughout the world.